I've been very busy trying to win a few cases for the good guys - and trying to understand why Elster responds to a Mets bullpen collapse as "flying pretty high" and "good times." So blogging has had to take a timeout. Here are some quick thoughts on a few events:

1. The liquidation of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, while certainly significant, ultimately evidences the overall U.S. failure in Iraq. Zarqawi has been the top target there since the capture of Saddam Hussein, and was closely tracked for a long period. That it took so long to eliminate him only shows how difficult it is for the Western occupation to operate in a territory as vast as Iraq.

2. I don't usually comment on the hated Islanders, but they made two very good moves today. Neil Smith, their new GM, was a bit out of control in the latter portion of his long tenure as Rangers GM, but he was fantastic in building the 1994 Stanley Cup team with a mix of solid drafting of players like Alexei Kovalev, as well as free agent acquisitions of young players like Adam Graves, and trades for veterans like Steve Larmer and - of course - Mark Messier. The Islanders are in a somewhat similar situation to that of the Rangers when Smith took over in 1989, with some young talent but also some grossly overpaid veterans on the decline.

New Islanders head coach Ted Nolan did a good job for the Sabres in the late 90's, and then disappeared after losing a power struggle with John Muckler (who later coached the Rangers and now serves as Ottawa's GM) and earning a reputation as a backstabber. The bottom line is that Nolan is an excellent hockey man, and nearly a decade later, he deserves a shot.

3. Aside from bringing back longtime cornerback Ray Mickens, making the retirement of Wayne Chrebet official, and wild but uninformed media speculation about Chad Pennington, things have been quiet around the Jets. I like Mickens and did not like the way the old evil regime let him go when Ty Law was signed last August. I'm still holding out hope that the Jets can pick up one or two veterans who become salary cap casualties, particularly on the defensive line.

Speaking of the old evil regime, MSNBC published an article proclaiming Herm Edwards to be the new head coach most likely to succeed in 2006, stating that even if the Chiefs decline on offense, they can make a Super Bowl run.

I can't wait for Chiefs fans and the clueless media to express bewilderment when the Chiefs stumble to a 9-7 season.

One thing I do know, is that Herm will be "proud, real proud" of his players and that those players will "battle."

4. Also in NFL news, as Jewboy writes, the "Ravens-Steve McNair odyssey finally came to an end."

Outside of Tennessee and Baltimore, I doubt many were aware of this particular "odyssey."

5. The impending Stanley Cup victory of the Carolina Hurricanes makes the Rangers collapse all the more frustrating. The NHL was as wide open this season as any professional sports league in memory, and Carolina wasn't seen as much more of a contender than the Rangers back in October. Had the Rangers not sustained so many injuries and had Henrik Lundqvist been at his best, they could have had a chance.

6. We at The Zionist Conspiracy despise Alonzo Mourning, so let's hope to see a Mavericks victory tonight and in the NBA Finals.